on the make
Idioms-
Seeking personal gain, as in Tom's a young man on the make—he doesn't care whom he offends . [ Slang ; second half of 1800s]
-
Looking for sexual conquest, as in After several affairs, Peter got the reputation of being a man on the make . [ Slang ; c. 1920]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Mr. Restall’s Columbus was a man on the make, a social climber who used his marriage in 1479 to Felipa Moniz, the daughter of a minor aristocrat, to further his standing.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 2, 2026
Melissa went on the make a second landfall in eastern Cuba still as a major hurricane and brought widespread damage and flooding.
From BBC • Nov. 29, 2025
There was also no information available on the make and model of the vehicle involved.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 2, 2023
The Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition of 1909 had staked Seattle’s claim as a city on the make.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 30, 2022
Young men and women on the make, and older ones trying anxiously to cling to their perch, throng an entire bookcase full of American fiction.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
